Update 6.35pm: Opposition leader Micheál Martin has said a new report on housing rents makes for "very dismal and depressing reading."

He said that over a number of years the rental increase in Dublin has been "shocking" and warned it is having a "huge impact on people."

Mr Martin also accused Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of complacency in his approach to the country's housing crisis.

The Fianna Fáil leader was speaking during a debate in the Dáil about the findings of the latest Daft.ie report which showed that rents were at an all-time high.

Mr Martin said that behind all the figures were human stories.

"Many families are under threat of eviction and are extremely worried, having been given deadlines by landlords to leave their properties because they need to renovate them or give them to family members.

"Many families are now doubling and tripling up, as we know from our clinics.

"There are people coming in who are living with their parents or siblings and so on. There are young people getting their first jobs in cities and 40% to 50% of their income is going on rent. The student experience is becoming hazardous," he said.

Mr Martin also criticised the Taoiseach for being unable to recall the recommendations from a Department of Finance report in September to help tackle the crisis.

He said it was extraordinary that none of the recommendations had been implemented by the Government.

When Mr Varadkar said he would have to look again at the report because it was published some time ago Mr Martin said his response was "very worrying".

"That sums up the complacency around this issue of housing," he said.

"These were the measures designed to retain, and increase the supply of, landlords in the market and he does not have a clue about them, coming in here. That sums up the complacency around this issue of housing," added Mr Martin.

Mr Varadkar hit back and said: "I do recall the report. I am familiar with it but, obviously, if I am going to be asked detailed questions about the recommendations, I would have liked the opportunity to at least cast my eyes over the report again before speaking to it."

He said the Government was "very aware of the impact that rising rents are having on many people."

"In some cases they risk driving people into homelessness. In many cases people are required to pay a huge portion of their post-tax incomes in rent, thus leaving very little money for other costs, whether child care or the many other costs of living.

"We acknowledge absolutely that rising rents are having an enormous impact on people, particularly those who are struggling to make ends meet," added the Taoiseach.

More misery for renters is revealed in the latest property round-up, which shows rents at their highest level ever with little sign of them slowing any time soon, writes Caroline O’Doherty.

The number of properties available to let has also plummeted to the lowest on record — leaving renters at the mercy of a market that can name its price.

According to property website Daft.ie, rents rose by an average 10.4% during 2017 — the fourth year in a row that increases have topped 10%. That is despite areas where the highest increases occurred being included in rent pressure zones which are meant to cap annual rises at 4%.

Housing charities say the figures clearly show the failure of rent pressure zones and other Government initiatives aimed at tackling the rental crisis.

“Rent pressure zones cannot work without proper monitoring and enforcement,” she said.

Focus Ireland said the survey was “deeply troubling”.

Its advocacy director, Mike Allen, said: “We have a truly dysfunctional housing system and while we recognise that Government has taken a number of measures, the evidence is clear that these still fall far short of what is needed.”

Rent pressure zones were introduced in 2016 and cover 21 areas, including all of Dublin, Cork City and several suburbs, much of Galway, and key parts of Meath and Louth, yet rent increases in these areas last year ranged from 7.7% to 14% — far above the 4% cap.

Surges also occurred in Limerick City and Waterford City, which are not zoned and saw increases of 14.8% and 12%. All bar one county, Donegal, had increases at least double the 4% marker.

Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft report, said the underlying pressure for rising rents continued to be a chronic shortage of available rental accommodation.

“With at least 40,000 new homes a year needed to meet underlying demand, but with below 20,000 homes built in 2017, it remains the priority for policymakers to bring constructions costs down in line with affordable levels,” he said.

According to Daft, there were just 3,143 properties available to rent in the whole country on February 1 which is the lowest since surveying began in 2006.

Rents nationally now average €1,227 per month, with Dublin still the most expensive at €1,822 followed by Cork at €1,180, Galway at €1,096, Limerick at €1,004, and Waterford at €835. Around the rest of the country, the average is €860.

The latest increases mean nationally rents have grown by 65% since they bottomed out in 2011, while there has been an 81% leap in Dublin. A renter in the capital has to fork out €4,500 more per year than they did during the previous peak in 2008.

In most cases, it would be cheaper to buy a property than rent it, as the difference between mortgage repayments and rent is almost double in some instances, and is particularly high in the case of starter properties such as one-bed apartments and two-bed houses.

The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) disputed the interpretation of the figures, saying they reflected rents being asked for new tenancies and not existing tenancies being renewed.

IPOA chairman Stephen Faughnan said he had warned there would be a shortage of properties because heavy taxation of rental income would push many landlords out of the market.

“A private landlord is left with far less for running the business than would appear from the regular media hype about increased rents,” he said.

The Department of Housing said it would be rolling out new powers to the Residential Tenancies board for the enforcement of the rent pressure zone regulations over the next two years and was moving towards the annual registration of tenancies which would provide a national rent dataset which would better inform future policy decisions.

The Government is facing fresh claims that it is failing to address spiralling health waiting list delays after a patient was told a hospital could not see him for a neurological condition until at least 2024.